LR (and RC) burnout is REAL

FerdaFresh

Hey everyone,

I'm sure there are several past posts like this, but -- for anyone taking the upcoming December test -- I think it's important to clarify: quality over quantity.

I originally planned on taking a preptest a day to get through some stray 60s tests I didn't do + the entire 70s series + available 80s before the LSAT. After an unexpected day off a couple days ago, I went -1 on the whole LR section. I had never done that before. I was probably averaging around -4 to -6 combined. Out of curiosity, I decided to only drill LG the next day and BR a little on RC and LR, without doing any new questions. Took another preptest after that break and went -2 combined. A third preptest produced the same result, all but confirming what JY already tells us (but what many of us are probably reluctant to accept): do not PT more than 3 times a week.

I've let go of the idea of doing the whole 70s series before the December test (other than LG), and I've accepted that the brain is not a computer; we don't choose when and how often it can be charged to satisfaction. For me, doing a preptest every other day has produced a consistent jump in scores that I hardly attribute to "knowing more." So, if you're cramming for the test, consider taking a break from this stuff. I know for one that I'm not touching anything LSAT related the day before.

Best of luck on the final stretch

paigekochanski

Hey!
I'm kinda planning something similar. I went super study-mode all summer May-September and was completely burnt out on my Sept test date. Took it easy this time around and I am getting high scores and not burning out. With a week left to December, I'm deciding between writing one test Saturday, reviewing monday, writing another Wednesday and reviewing thursday/friday,
OR
Writing one on Monday, reviewing Wednesday and taking thursday/friday off.
How many days did you take off between? Typically I write a test Wednesday/Saturday but my biggest fear is burning out again.

FerdaFresh

I'm still pushing it tbh. I'm doing a PT every other day rather than everyday... I was doing one PT a day for awhile and was making silly errors/not progressing; just giving myself one day of breaks in between has pretty much fixed that.

Now when I review what I got wrong, not only are the questions fewer and farther between, but I feel more justified in having incorrectly answered them. I feel they beat me fairly rather than me just getting them wrong because I felt like a zombie on autopilot.

That being said, idt there's anything wrong with taking it even easier before test day, especially if you're scoring where you want already. The only thing I'd consider telling you is to expose yourself to the remaining LG games from the latest tests that you haven't hit -- especially the unique ones. Maybe on Sunday or whatever day off you've given yourself. I don't think LG really contributes to burnout like LR does.

paigekochanski

Oh yes, totally know where you're coming from with the zombie on autopilot! That was my first test expereince.. awful!!
That's really good that one day fixed it! For me it took weeks.. but i've been going at this for 7 months straight now. I have actually done each test at least once, in prep for September but I think you're right, i've got the 79/80 games left that I haven't touched this time around. Maybe i'll check those out with an LR rather than a Saturday full test?

I'm just thankful it's only a week left!!

hchamz123

Totally agreed. I'm breaking up test 80, and using each section as the "experimental" in the next 4 PTs before next week's test. Let's not forget to practice with a fifth section so that next week, we're mentally prepared for that extra un-scored section! I noticed it makes a real difference in leftover brain power, but if you practice even just a couple times with 5 sections, you can get well acclimated to it.
Really looking forward to next week. It's my first time taking it, and I'm kinda throwing all my eggs into this basket...

10000019

@hchamz123 said:
Totally agreed. I'm breaking up test 80, and using each section as the "experimental" in the next 4 PTs before next week's test. Let's not forget to practice with a fifth section so that next week, we're mentally prepared for that extra un-scored section! I noticed it makes a real difference in leftover brain power, but if you practice even just a couple times with 5 sections, you can get well acclimated to it.
Really looking forward to next week. It's my first time taking it, and I'm kinda throwing all my eggs into this basket...

If you're only after the endurance, why use such a high numbered test to achieve that? Throw in an earlier test (even if you've seen it before).

hchamz123

@10000019 said:

@hchamz123 said:
Totally agreed. I'm breaking up test 80, and using each section as the "experimental" in the next 4 PTs before next week's test. Let's not forget to practice with a fifth section so that next week, we're mentally prepared for that extra un-scored section! I noticed it makes a real difference in leftover brain power, but if you practice even just a couple times with 5 sections, you can get well acclimated to it.
Really looking forward to next week. It's my first time taking it, and I'm kinda throwing all my eggs into this basket...

If you're only after the endurance, why use such a high numbered test to achieve that? Throw in an earlier test (even if you've seen it before).

I figured the actual test would give a section that was similar in difficulty to recent tests, no? I figured the older LR and RC were easier so I wouldn't be exposing myself to the mental strain I would realistically be getting if I used older ones.

FerdaFresh

@hchamz123 said:
I figured the older LR and RC were easier so I wouldn't be exposing myself to the mental strain I would realistically be getting if I used older ones.

I really agree with this. Old LRs aren't fully representative of what we're gonna be seeing in December. Assumption questions in particular are a different game now. Not to mention they've added a new style of "principle/application" questions.

And newer RC is almost like an LR within RC, where most questions require you to make LR-esque inferences instead of memorizing where things are.

I think this is a good call.

Alex

@FerdaFresh said:

@hchamz123 said:
I figured the older LR and RC were easier so I wouldn't be exposing myself to the mental strain I would realistically be getting if I used older ones.

I really agree with this. Old LRs aren't fully representative of what we're gonna be seeing in December. Assumption questions in particular are a different game now. Not to mention they've added a new style of "principle/application" questions.

And newer RC is almost like an LR within RC, where most questions require you to make LR-esque inferences instead of memorizing where things are.

I think this is a good call.

I definitely agree that the RC is more LR-like on the newer tests. However, It's still very helpful to know where things are/the structure. But still, no where near as helpful as it used to be.

FerdaFresh

@"Alex Divine" said:
I definitely agree that the RC is more LR-like on the newer tests. However, It's still very helpful to know where things are/the structure. But still, no where near as helpful as it used to be.

Yeah, for sure. I still do new RC like any old RC -- making sure to know where things are and "push up" new info to the preceding info. The old RC was nice because you could do this and answer questions quicker... because more of the questions were "isolated" to a particular part of the passage. Whereas now I find some questions take a little longer because you have to spend more time "thinking" by inference rather than "knowing" by structural passage recall.

But I definitely still make sure to spend time up front knowing the passage's structure and where things are, broadly. Even if this isn't directly as applicable to new questions, it still definitely helps to gain a holistic understanding of the passage!